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Many composers have turned their hand to opera, from Handel to Kanye West<\/a>. But who are the composers who have shaped this theatrical form into what it is today?<\/strong><\/p> Originating in Italy at the end of the 16th century, opera has attracted composers from all styles and backgrounds. Although Italy remained the epicentre of the European opera world for quite some time, there have always been composers in other countries making waves: Sch\u00fctz in Germany, Lully in France, Purcell<\/a><\/strong> in Britain and, more recently, Missy Mazzolli, Philip Glass<\/a><\/strong> and John Adams<\/a><\/strong> in the US.<\/p> While this may not be an exhaustive list of the greatest opera composers, it is a good place to start for those who are new to the art form.<\/p> Please note: this list has been compiled in no particular order.<\/p> Richard Wagner<\/a><\/strong> (1813-1883) truly was opera’s colossus, revolutionising the form and popularising the use of leitmotifs \u2013 musical phrases corresponding to specific characters \u2013 in operas of the 19th century.<\/p> His Ring Cycle<\/em> perfectly indicates his grasp of the form, made up of four full-length operas \u2013 a cycle of unprecedented scale and grandeur. Its four comprising operas are Das Rheingold<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, Die Walk\u00fcre<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, Siegfried<\/strong><\/a><\/em> and G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, and are intended to be heard in a series. Its opening opera, Das Rheingold<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, is, at two and a half hours, the longest single stretch of unbroken music in the classical music canon.<\/p> Later in his life, he founded the Bayreuth Festival, his very own opera gala. The festival provided a platform for Wagner to showcase his own works, including The Ring Cycle<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>and Parsifal<\/strong><\/a><\/em>.<\/p> Die FeenDas LiebesverbotRienziDer fliegende H\u00f6llander<\/a><\/strong>Tannh\u00e4user<\/a><\/strong>Lohengrin<\/a><\/strong>Das Rheingold<\/a><\/strong>Die Walk\u00fcre<\/a><\/strong>Siegfried<\/a><\/strong>G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung<\/a><\/strong>Tristan und Isolde<\/strong><\/a>Die Meistersinger<\/a><\/strong>Parsifal<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Read more reviews of the latest Wagner recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Find out more about Wagner and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> We named Wagner one of the greatest composers ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Puccini<\/a> <\/strong>is the founding father of Italian opera, whose music has stood the test of time. How many times have we heard ‘O mio babbino caro’ from Gianni Schicchi <\/em>or seen various adaptations of <\/a>La boheme<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>performed on stages across the world?<\/p> Certainly, there’s something questionable about the way Puccini and his librettists treat women, with many of his female protagonists taking their own lives, but elsewhere in his operas he touches on progressive subjects such as cultural imperialism.<\/p> Le VilliEdgarManon LescautLa Boh\u00e8meTosca<\/a><\/strong>Madama Butterfly<\/a><\/strong>La fanciulla del WestLa RondineIl tritticoIl tabarroSuor AngelicaGianni SchicchiTurandot<\/p> Find out more about Puccini and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Puccini recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> The operas of Benjamin Britten<\/a><\/strong> manage to straddle traditional and avant-garde soundworlds and appeal to a wide variety of audiences. After giving the US premiere of Paul Bunyan<\/em>, written to a libretto by WH Auden, the pair withdrew the opera \u2013 despite its deft use of American musical, country and blues idioms.<\/p> The premiere of Peter Grimes<\/em> secured Britten a place on the international opera stage, and from then, Britten was able to flex his operatic muscles and wrote a tranche of stellar works for the stage. He has emerged as one of the major figures of 20th-century opera.<\/p> Paul BunyanPeter GrimesThe Rape of LucretiaAlbert HerringThe Beggar’s OperaBilly BuddGlorianaThe Turn of the ScrewNoye’s FluddeA Midsummer Night’s DreamCurlew RiverThe Burning Fiery FurnaceThe Prodigal SonOwen WingraveDeath in Venice<\/p> Find out more about Britten and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Britten recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Kaija Saariaho’s first opera L’Amour de loin <\/em>is dark, brooding and already a mainstay of the European opera scene since it was first performed in 2000. It was given its debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 and became the first ever opera by a female composer and conducted by a female composer (Susanna M\u00e4lkki) to be broadcast to cinemas across the world as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series. The opera is based on the story of Jaufre Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century.<\/p> L’amour de loinAdriana Mater\u00c9milie<\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Saariaho recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Thomas Ad\u00e8s<\/a><\/strong> leapt to global fame in 1995 following the premiere of his first opera Powder Her Face<\/em>, written for four singers and chamber orchestra. It is about a beautiful but promiscuous woman who is disgraced during her divorce, and is seen as one of the earliest operas about tabloid culture and cancel culture.<\/p> The Tempest <\/em>and The Exterminating Angel <\/em>are similarly dramatic, both of which are adaptations: The Tempest <\/em>of Shakespeare’s play of the same name and The Exterminating Angel <\/em>an adaptation of the 1962 film by Luis Bu\u00f1uel.<\/p> Powder Her FaceThe TempestThe Exterminating Angel<\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Thomas Ad\u00e8s recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Handel<\/a><\/strong> was a master of opera and oratorio<\/a><\/strong>, having started writing and directing his own operas at the age of just 20. As a young man, he went to Italy \u2013 the home of opera \u2013 to seek patronage and learn from the great composers of the time. It was here he penned such operas as Rodrigo <\/em>and Agrippina<\/em>, both of which are still commonly performed and recorded across the world. He later left Italy for London where he wrote a further 30 operas.<\/p> Because of his comparatively long life, his output was vast and the operatic masterpieces were spread evenly across his life. In the 1730s he split his time evenly between writing operas an oratorios, such as Esther <\/em>and Acis and Galatea. <\/em><\/p> AlmiraNeroFlorindoDaphneRodrigoAgrippinaRinaldoIl pastor fidoTeseoSillaAmadigi di GaulaRadamistoMuzio ScevolaFloridanteOttoneFlavioGiulio CesareTamerlanoRodelindaSciopioneAlessandroAdmetoRiccardo PrimoSiroeTolomeoLotarioPartenopePoroEzioSosarmeOrlandoArianna in CretaOresteAriodanteAlcinaAtalantaArminioGiustinoBereniceFaramondoAlessandro SeveroSerseGiove in ArgoImeneoDeidamiaAcis and Galatea<\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Handel recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Find out more about Handel and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> In her lifetime, The Boatswain’s Mate <\/em>was Ethel Smyth<\/a><\/strong>‘s most successful opera. The comic two-act opera features the theme that later became The March of the Women<\/em>, the official anthem of the Women’s Social and Political Union and the broader women’s suffrage movement in 1911.<\/p> It is her earlier opera, however, that is most regularly performed nowadays. Thomas Beecham conducted the English premiere of The Wreckers <\/em>in 1909 and it went on to receive a Covent Garden performance the year after. It’s a light opera \u2013 a label Smyth was proud of, believing English composers were well suited to the style. Mahler<\/a><\/strong> was believed to be interested in bringing it to the Vienna State Opera, but unfortunately got fired before he had the opportunity to do so.<\/p> FantastioDer WaldThe WreckersThe Boatswain’s MateF\u00eate GalanteEntente Cordiale<\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Smyth recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong>‘s compositional output is wide-ranging, encompassing ballets, songs, symphonies and, of course, operas. Despite Tchaikovsky’s hesitancy, concerned the public may not accept it, Eugene Onegin <\/em>has become one of his most commonly performed operas. It is based on a novel by Alexander Pushkin, as are his later operas The Queen of Spades <\/em>and Mazeppa<\/em>.<\/p> We also named Tchaikovsky one of the greatest ballet composers ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p> UndinaThe VoyevodaThe OprichnikVakula the SmithEugene OneginThe Maid of OrleansMazeppaCherevichkiThe EnchantressThe Queen of SpadesIolanta<\/p> Find out more about Tchaikovsky and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Tchaikovski recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> In 2018, Missy Mazzoli made history when she became one of the first two women (along with Jeanine Tesori) to be commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. She has chosen to base her Met Opera commission on George Saunders’s 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo.<\/em> BBC Music Magazine<\/em>‘s columnist referred to Mazzoli as ‘writing in a lush, neo-Romantic style spiced with minimalist and jazz flecks.’<\/p> Her most recent opera, Proving Up<\/em>, explores the dark realities of the American Dream, based on a story by the writer Karen Russell. ‘I wrote it right after the 2016 election when issues of inequality and access were being discussed more than ever \u2013 something that has only intensified in the last four years,’ Mazzolli told BBC Music Magazine <\/em>in 2020. ‘Most of my operas so far have centred on women in impossible situations. Being a woman in a male-dominated field and struggling to carve out an identity is one of my big preoccupations.’<\/p> Song from the UproarBreaking the WavesProving Up<\/p> Read our reviews of Mazzoli recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Verdi dominated the world of Italian opera in the 19th century after the premiere of Nabucco <\/em>took Milan by storm in 1842, following in the footsteps of Bellini<\/a><\/strong>, Donizetti<\/a><\/strong> and Rossini<\/a> <\/strong>who came before. Even during his lifetime, Verdi’s operas were incredibly popular, performed across the world. His La traviata <\/em>remains the most-performed opera in the world \u2013 despite having initially been viewed as something of a disappointment after the epic historic operas he had written before, Rigoletto<\/em> and Il trovatore. <\/em>Together, these three operas \u2013 written during his ‘middle period’ remain his best loved.<\/p> Oberto, conte di San BonifacioUn giorno di regnoNabucodonosorI Lombardi alla prime crociataErnaniI due FoscariGiovanna d’ArcoAlziraAttilaMacbethI masnadieriIl corsaroLa battaglia di LegnanoLuisa MillerStiffelioRigolettoIl trovatoreLa traviataLes v\u00eapres siciliennesSimon BoccanegraUn ballo in mascheraLa forza del destinoDon CarlosAida<\/a><\/strong>OtelloFalstaff<\/p> Read our reviews of the latest Verdi recordings here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>The best opera composers of all time<\/h2><\/div><\/div>
Wagner<\/h3>
Which operas did Wagner compose? <\/strong><\/h4>
Puccini<\/h3>
Which operas did Puccini compose?<\/strong><\/h4>
Britten<\/h3>
Which operas did Britten compose?<\/strong><\/h4>
Kaija Saariaho<\/h3>
Which operas has Kaija Saariaho composed?<\/strong><\/h4>
Thomas Ad\u00e8s<\/h3>
Which operas has Thomas Ad\u00e8s composed?<\/strong><\/h4>
Handel<\/h3>
Which operas has Handel composed?<\/strong><\/h4>
Ethel Smyth<\/h3>
Which operas did Ethel Smyth compose?<\/strong><\/h4>
Tchaikovsky<\/h3>
Which operas did Tchaikovsky compose?<\/strong><\/h4>
Missy Mazzoli<\/h3>
Which operas has Missy Mazzoli composed?<\/strong><\/h4>
Verdi<\/h3>
Which operas did Verdi compose?<\/strong><\/h4>